The Beautiful Letdown
by tysunkete
Summary: 6918. Hibari's sick, and no one in the family knows about it, until a certain illusionist happens to witness a weak moment. [hiatus]
1. Chapter 1

a/n: IT HAS BEEN LONG. YES. But I come bringing a short fic I wrote yesterday night even though my Chinese national exam was today XD XD I am so asking to be killed. Nonetheless, this was written for myself, since it's my birthday today (shameless declaration). I will try to get my other fics up and running, hopefully in the next two weeks, provided something doesn't crop up again. Thank you and enjoy~

* * *

It had been five years. Five years since the defeat of Byakuran. Tsuna assumed the rightful head of the family in the Vongola mansion, carrying out his duties with a more mature head and stronger heart, with Reborn continuing to show him the ropes. The Vongola guardians had their own spaces in the mansion, after all, they were in mafia business full time. The Varia remained an extension of the Vongola, with them having free reign with whatever else they pleased.

And so it was very normal for Hibari Kyouya to rise from his futon in his own wing of the mansion, pulling back the curtains and smiling softly at hibird tilting its head back at him. He slid the door open and hibird settled itself at the Cloud guardian's shoulder, chirping the Nanimori High School song in celebration of a new day, and to the amusement of its master.

The said master headed for his work desk in the main room and turned his computer on for the day. Hibari shifted his sleeping haori slightly, the long sleeves getting in the way of the keyboard. Hibird flitted to the table and nudged Hibari's finger to move the cursor onto the password box that had loaded up.

_Hn~ Still as useful as ever._ His hand reached out to fuzz Hibird, but unlike every other mornings, his hand froze.

Hibari's eyes widened for a brief second in alarm. _No. No. No. It shouldn't happen so early in the morning._ He tried to retract the same hand back but it just would not move. Slowly, he felt the familiar burning sensation in his lungs bubbling up. This other hand instinctively reached up to claw his now burning throat. Fumbling about he managed to wrench his desk drawer open, presenting an array of pills of every colour possible.

_Shit. Which pill to take? Too many.._

A cough suddenly racked his body, causing him to topple his chair over as he stood up in alarm. Another cough took over his body and he felt a sticky liquid covering his hands as he covered his mouth.

Sticky and metallic.

Blood.

_Green. I think it's the green pill._

He cleared his mind enough to grab the bottle with the green pills from the drawer with his trembling hands, only to spill it on the table as he popped the cover open.

"Kyouya, what are yo-"

Hibari looked up in surprise and shock, at the one and only person who dared to use his first name, Mukuro. He must have slipped through Tetsu, he mused. But it wasn't the time to think of such things.

The next cough nearly made his threw up his lungs, and his heart hammered more loudly than ever. He was too weak to stand, but his pride would not allow him to fall. No one was supposed to see him in this state. No one. Especially not the Mist guardian.

"Kyouya, your hand.." he was stepping closer now.

Hibari was vaguely aware of the cool liquid that slid down his knuckles as he coughed out more blood. Damn, this had to be the worst seizure so far. Beads of perspiration dotted his forehead, and he was deathly pale. Hibari breathed in deeply as he felt the coughs getting weaker now, and finally subsiding. Mukuro was right beside him, but gave him enough space to not touch him.

Mukuro eyed the bottles of pills that decorated his drawer and picked one off the desk.

"A painkiller and sedative, Kyouya?" Mukuro's voice was playful, but it contained a slight amount of... anger?

He seated himself into the chair in front of Hibari's desk, both eyes never leaving Hibari's form. The Cloud guardian glared at him, settling himself back into a chair that Mukuro illusioned up.

"Don't... say anything.." Hibari's voice was soft. And weak. So unlike the Cloud guardian that he used to know.

Hibari reached for the tissue box and wiped his hands clean of his own blood, lips still stained red, a stark contrast against his pale features.

"How long has this been going on?"

Silence.

"Kyouya, how long has this been?"

Silence.

"..N."

"Two years... or more.. I don't remember.."

Mukuro's red eye blazed, but he kept his emotions under control.

"Doctor?"

"Where do you think I got the pills from?" Hibari smirked, just a little. "Use your brain Mukuro Rokudo. I thought you were smarter than that, herbivore."

"You are in no position to doubt my intelligence you asshole." Ah, that would be annoyance creeping into his voice. "Why didn't you tell any of us?"

"Same reason why you wouldn't have either."

Snort. "Does the great Hibari Kyouya actually care that we'd worry?"

"Don't make me bite you to death." Hibari didn't deny it nonetheless. "Tetsu in going to enter in 32 seconds and I will make him kick you out."

"Too bad he won't see me then."

Just as a knock sounded on the door, Mukuro fazed into the air.

"Kyou-san?"

"Enter."

Tetsu smiled, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. He eyed the bloodied tissues on the table and the pills scattered about, but kept silent. He set the steaming cup of green tea he was carrying and nodded to Hibari.

"New batch just came in. I think you'd enjoy this particular brand, Kyou-san."

Tetsu headed for the exit but paused just a while.

"Kyou-san, I think Mukuro-san should know that he could just enter through the front door."

And left.

Hibari quirked an eyebrow, then realised he was sitting on one of the Mist guardian's creations while his own chair laid on the floor behind him.

"He's a sharp one," Mukuro's breath was strangely too close for comfort. Hibari pushed his face away.

"Would you mind, useless herbivore?" Hibari headed towards his bathroom.

"Yes, I'd mind it very much," his smirked in all implied meaning, but strode towards the main door.

"Sawada will hear about this, Kyouya." he added softly.

Hibari closed his eyes in tiredness. "It won't help Mukuro. There's no cure."

"No cure found yet." Mukuro turned to face him. And suddenly, he had an idea.

Advancing towards Hibari like predator would to a prey, he vaguely surprised to see Hibari staring back defiantly without backing a single step. He was underestimating Hibari again. Sick or not, this was the Cloud guardian, Vongola's strongest guardian.

Hibari saw that look flit pass Mukuro's red eye. _He planning to possess me. _Hibari cursed inwardly. He didn't have as much strength in his body at the moment as he portrayed. If they fought, Mukuro would win. Hibari was not stupid. But Hibari was prideful. His two tonfas slid down his arms and he backed into a defensive position.

"Come on Kyouya, I just want to see how bad the condition is.."

"Don't touch me, freak."

"There's no way you can win in your condition now." _Damn him._

"Bite me." The Cloud guardian bared his teeth and he lunged anyway, landing a solid whack into Mukuro's gut as he was caught unawares. But it gave the opening the Mist guardian needed anyway. His hand traced Hibari's bloodied lips and forced his consciousness into the Cloud guardians.

When he blinked and stared around, he was holding his own limp body in his arms.

"GET OUT YOU JACKASS."

Ah, that would be Hibari protesting somewhere in his mind. Mukuro focused on getting used to Hibari's body, vaguely aware of his five senses connecting with his conscious.

Then suddenly, he fell to his knees and clutched his heart. It burned. This. This was how Hibari felt everyday, but he was so used to it that the Cloud guardian never showed any signs. His entire heart and lungs felt like it was on fire, and his throat burned as he tried to let out a scream. Desperate, Mukuro clutched his own body and left Hibari's body, catching Hibari as the boy's body gave out.

Mukuro breathed harshly and tried to form a coherent thought within his raging mind. Hibari slowly became conscious and immediately slammed his tonfa into Mukuro for good measure, sending the Mist guardian flying into the wall.

"Fufufufufu..." Mukuro wiped the blood that dripped out the side of his mouth due to the impact.

"Don't do that. Ever. Bastard." Hibari spat, heading towards his intended destination, the bathroom.

Mukuro watched as the Cloud guardian strode confidently with nothing betraying his steps, but he knew how much Hibari was hurting inside.

"Sawada will hear about his, Kyouya," he said firmly once more to empty room, but he knew Hibari heard him. Hibird chirped from somewhere and flew to Mukuro's outstretched finger.

He petted the bird and smiled. "Don't worry, he'll be better soon."

Maybe if there was no cure, he could provide illusioned organs? But knowing Hibari, the said guardian would never allow it.

"He'll get better soon," he repeated, more to himself. "I promise."

* * *

a/n: Well, I tried. I've always thought that the only time Hibari would ever be weak is when he's sick. And that's the only possible way I think he'd die. Much like Kenshin, they're practically invincible. Mukuro seems too sedated in this one, but I haven't been having much of a Mukuro dose ever since Byakuran imprisoned him in that water chamber. *cries* but it's okay now Mukuro-sama!

Owari?

I might continue this into a three shot, but it's complete, for now.


	2. Chapter 2

_Maybe we've been livin' with our eyes half open_

_Maybe we're bent and broken_

_We were meant to live for so much more_

_Have we lost ourselves?_

_Somewhere we live inside_

-Meant to Live, Switchfoot

* * *

"TSUNAYOSHI~~KUN!~!!!" Mukuro fazed into the Boss' office. Of course, he couldn't really teleport, but illusions had their own magic. He still entered the locked room and found Tsuna's face slumped on a pile of paperwork. Tsuna's breathing was fairly even. He was asleep.

Grinning wickedly, Mukuro conjured Reborn's profile in front of Tsuna, and it clicked a handgun against Tsuna's temple. Almost immediately, Tsuna shrieked and sat up straight into his chair, hands frantically sorting out the papers that made the mess even worse.

"AHHH I'M NOT SLEEPING I'M NOT SLEEPING I'M NOT SLEEPING DON'T KILL ME REBO-" Tsuna paused and finally looked up at the illusion. "You're not Reborn."

"Kufufufu..." Mukuro dissipated his illusion and walked out from a hidden angle. "What was the difference?"

"Reborn actually shoots," Tsuna's eyes crinkled into a smile, but sighed heavily back into his cushy chair. "Don't do it again Mukuro... I pulled an all nighter but all these," he gestured to the paperwork, "is still not done."

Dark circles were evident on Tsuna's matured face, a far cry from his 5 years ago juvenile self. After the Byakuran incident, he was a stronger, and more capable leader of the Vongola. Of course, Reborn had to threaten him sometimes.

Sometimes.

"Kyoko-chan's going to kill me when she wakes up.." he continued to mutter to himself. The two were engaged, and sleeping in the same room.

Tsuna stopped momentarily and scrutinized Mukuro. "How.. was the mission?"

Mukuro slid into a slow smile. "...Dead. All 36 of them. I brought it back." He dug into his pocket and tossed a metal object into Tsuna's desk. A box weapon shone innocently.

Tsuna took the box weapon and kept it in his drawer, keeping silent. Ever since they acquired the box weapons from ten years ago, word had gotten around and other families tried to steal the technology that far surpassed the era.

"You know it was necessary." Mukuro stated when he saw Tsuna's face.

"...I just don't like killing, even if it's necessary," he said quietly. "You? Are you hurt?"

Mukuro nearly snorted. "You think?" His red eye seemed to laugh. Sauntering around the room, he finally pulled out the chair and sat in front of Tsuna's desk, smiling his creepy smile while Tsuna tried to finish his paperwork, which was failing miserably.

"Sawada, are you sending Kyouya on a mission soon?"

"Hibari-san? Actually... he requested not to do anymore since a year ago..." Tsuna paused. "Why?"

"I was just thinking how fun it would be if you could send both of us on a trip together," Mukuro chuckled. "Do you know why? That skylark loves to 'bite people to death', doesn't he?"

"He didn't give me a reason.. but if that's his choice, I'll respect it.." Tsuna bit out slowly. "And it's not like he'd listen to me anyway..."

Looks like Tsuna had no clue on the Cloud's guardian's condition.

Mukuro took out a pill from his pocket, one that he swiped from Hibari earlier on without him knowing. "Tell me what's this." He offered it to Tsuna.

Tsuna took it unsurely. "I don't see how.."

"Just tell me."

He sniffed the pill delicately and eyed it. "Paracetamol. Together with painkiller and perhaps.. other stuff. I'm not so sure. What has this got to do with Hiba-"

Tsuna stared at Mukuro while his brain tried to form the puzzle. "Y-you mean.." He spluttered. "Hibari-san's... not... fit enough to fight? That's why he's refusing missions?"

Mukuro nodded gently. "I went to disturb him just now but he was having a seizure. He threw me into a wall, anyway," he added to Tsuna's horror.

"I possessed him," Mukuro continued flippantly, ignoring the OAO look Tsuna was having. "He was coughing out blood, Tsunayoshi."

There was silence in the office for a while.

"I just can't imagine Hibari-san... sick," Tsuna whispered softly, face drained of colour. "All these years he's been living in the same house and I've never seen him with his guard down. Only... only _that _day..."

"Ah yes.. _that _day... we were all so surprised that Kyouya actually lived..."

"... Do you think Reborn knows? About Hibari-san..."

Mukuro blinked. The hitman was always so sharp in picking up things... he was sure Reborn would at least be suspicious.

"Dr Shamal knows, at least. He's the one providing Kyouya with the pills," he gestured to the pill that Tsuna was absentmindedly rolling in his hand.

"Should w-"

A knock sounded on the door. "JYUDAIME~~! I'VE BROUGHT COFFEE!!!"

The storm guardian, of course. Tsuna unlocked his door with a button on his desk and Gokudera stepped in, carrying a steaming mug of caffeine.

"Thanks," he shot Gokudera a grateful look, who was eyeing Mukuro with distrust and suspicion.

"I won't kill our beloved Boss, if that's what you're thinking," Mukuro playfully winked at Tsuna. "Torture is still my forte..."

"Shut up Mukuro," Gokudera hissed, clenching his fists. He knew Mukuro was just playing, but that didn't stop him from getting pissed off. "Why are you in Judaime's room so early in the morning?"

"Saa.." the Mist guardian's eyes drifted to Tsuna who was happily sipping his coffee and smirked. "I wonder...are you jealous?"

"Why y-"

"Gokudera?"

"Yes, Jyudaime?"

Mukuro rolled his eyes inwardly as the Storm guardian's attention was immediately focused on Tsuna, brimming with shiny eyes that shouted devotion.

"Can you call Dr Shamal? I need to speak to him about something..."

"Sure Jyudaime.." Gokudera trailed off, noticing the stiff expression in Tsuna's face.

"Later Boss... and Mist," he added grudgingly, setting off for his new task. Those two were hiding something grim and dark, and he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know.

* * *

15 mins later, Dr Shamal found himself seated in front of Tsuna.

"What the? The kid told me he was bringing me to see some hot chick." He scanned Tsuna's office. "Not you."

"Dr Shamal, I need information," Tsuna started off patiently. "It has come to my attention that Hibari-san's...unwell.

"Well I don't know where you heard that from, but that's bullshit." He lit and cigarette and smoked. "The boy's fine."

"I felt the pain first hand," Mukuro cut in, his voice hard with ice. "_Doctor_."

Dr Shamal stared coolly back at Mukuro, but the Mist guardian countered it with one of his famous creepy smiles.

"The boy didn't want anyone to know," Dr Shamal said simply after a few minutes of silence.

Tsuna bit his lip, already resigned to the fact that his strongest guardian was battling some kind of illness and he never knew about it. "Can you explain his condition?"

Dr Shamal whipped out his phone and pressed the speedial. "Kid, get the scans labelled 18 on the envelope from my drawer. No. No. N- Yes. The brown one. Good. Bring it over the the Vongola mansion. Make it quick, or I'll deduct your pay." Click.

"I told my assistant to bring his scans over. It'll be easier to explain."

An awkward silence engulf the trio, with Tsuna fidgeting, Mukuro smiling and Shamal smoking. Minutes passed, before a knock was heard and Gokudera let himself in, carrying a brown envelope.

"Your assistant told me to pass this to you, Dr Shamal..He looked like he just ran a marathon.." Gokudera caught Tsuna's eye. Tsuna shook his head slightly, and Gokudera took it as a cue to leave the room. Whatever was going on, he was sure Jyudaime would fill him in later.

Dr Shamal pulled three scans from the envelope, setting them on top of Tsuna's messy desk.

"The first scan," he gestured, "was taken five years ago. After the fight with Byakuran." The x-ray scan showed various black patches in the lungs, stomach, intestines... and heart.

No one could ever forget _that_ day.

_Flashback sequence_

_"Kukuku...Hibari Kyouya..." Byakuran drawled as he dodged one of Hibari's incoming blows. "Such a pretty face..."_

_Hibari did not reply, but his eyes was smoldering with annoyance, lunging forwards to parry with Byakuran. On the sidelines, Tsuna was breathing harshly while blood flowed from his wound in the stomach, with the rest of the guardians trying to tend to him while bearing their own wounds as well. Mukuro was leaning on a surface, blood streaming down his head. He was nursing a leg with a gunshot, as well as a crushed arm, courtesy of one of the Byakuran's underlings. Chrome was passed out beside him, his tachi somehwhere the chaos, but alive._

_If only Tsuna hadn't been so forgiving, and just killed Byakuran off. His compassion was his downfall. Byakuran never played fair, starting with the game of choice. All of them should have known Byakuran was going to take advantage of Tsuna's pure heart. Luckily, Hibari had pushed Tsuna at last minute, causing Byakuran to miss the vital points of Tsuna's body as Byakuran's hand stabbed right through him._

_"Bite me, bastard," Hibari spat, blood in his mouth from all the fights._

_"With pleasure," Byakuran smiled and took out a vial from his shirt pocket. He opened it and poured a purple liquid on his hands. Hibari bared his teeth and stood guard with his tonfas in hand, his box weapons already pushed to the limit._

_"Ready, m-" Before Byakuran could finish, Hibari was already slamming his tonfas into his throat, but he was parried at the last minute, locking both into a standstill. Byakuran had more physical strength than Hibari, and he used it to throw him off, lunging this time with bloodlust._

_He was faster than before, and Hibari dodged, barely, his side grazed by Byakuran. Hibari wielded his bloodied tonfas once more, determined to end this fight. In front of him, Byakuran was wiping a blood trail from his mouth, but he was still smiling._

_"One last move, to checkmate?"_

_Hibari smirked, aiming towards him just as Byakuran lunged at the same time. The two collided in the middle, and the rest of the Vongola family watched in fearful anticipation as the two figures paused in action, damage already done._

_Hibari had one tonfa deep implanted into Byakuran's throat, and blood was dripping. He smirked, but Byakuran beat him to it. "Checkmate, Hibari Kyouya..." before slumping forwards. Hibari looked down, and saw that Byakuran had penetrated his body with his hand several times, leaving huge gashes in his body, of which blood was now flowing freely. He was dizzy, and slowly dropped a tonfa... and all he could hear was someone vaguely screaming his name..._

_End of Flashback sequence_

"This was the damage done to the boy by Byakuran, five years ago," Dr Shamal continued, and gestured towards the second photo.

"But you see here, all of that healed within two weeks. Can you believe it?" The scan was perfectly normal, no black patches.

"It was a miracle, all of us thought. The boy couldn't have lived, no, shouldn't have, with the amount of blood he lost and the damage to his organs."

"But you see here," he pointed to the third scan. "The wounds appeared at the same locations. This was taken two years ago, after the boy came to me."

"What does this mean?" Tsuna stared at the scans. Those wounds.. were fatal, but Hibari survived. And now they're back again...

"The boy and I discussed this a few times. I'm quite certain that the liquid in the vial Byakuran had, contained some sort of poison that would allow the affected to have abnormal healing powers for a short time, but after that, it will slowly deteriorate the body, causing a slow painful death. That's the basis of it.. what substance it is.. I don't know. We've been trying to find for two years," Dr Shamal answered the questions on both their minds.

"We?" Mukuro prodded.

"Me, the boy, and Reborn."

Ah, Reborn knows.

"Is there any cure?" Tsuna silently begged.

"None." Dr Shamal sighed. "Even organ transplants wouldn't work. You see, this poison has affected his lungs, intestines, stomach... and heart. And what's more, it spreads to his blood. His entire body is affected. There is simply no way to replace everything."

"How long more does he have?" Mukuro asked, keeping his face as neutral as possible.

"Two weeks, the most."

"Tw-two TWO WEEKS?" Tsuna stumbled as he stood up suddenly in shock. "But that's..."

"Initially I predicted his death last month. I don't know why he's still up and walking at his point, considering his body barely has any strength to function. No matter how strong his will is, it can't surpass his physical limitations. Two weeks, tops. The boy knows this, Tsuna."

Mukuro stared silently at the scans. He glanced at Tsuna, who looked as if he was on the brink of tears.

Dr Shamal took out one more scan from the envelope.

"This, was taken a month ago, when my prediction didn't come through."

The entire photo was blackened, only with a vague outline of Hibari's organs were made out. There was no other way about it.

Hibari Kyouya was dying.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! I really feel that more 6918 should be on fanfiction, so here I am back again. I have no idea how to continue this story without Hibari dying, but I'll...err... try to end it reasonably. Perhaps one more chapter to end this. Until next time.


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